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08 Mar 06 - 11:41 AM (#1688317) Subject: Up the rope and down the cable From: Jon W. Bob Flesher's recording of "O Lud Gals" begins: "It's up the rope and down the cable, forty horses in the stable." The first line seems like a nautical reference to me but I've never heard it in a shanty. Any one know anything about this phrase? |
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08 Mar 06 - 02:38 PM (#1688442) Subject: RE: Up the rope and down the cable From: Amos Typically, the cable is used to describe either a large rope or a chain connecting the ship to its anchor. But I have never heard this phrase per se before. There's a similar couplet yelled out at the end of "The Old Orange Flute" in the Clancy Brothers version, IIRC: "Up a long ladder and down a short rope Here's to King Billy, to hell with the Pope...." A |
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09 Mar 06 - 08:05 AM (#1689089) Subject: RE: Up the rope and down the cable From: gnomad Don't know about JW's phrase. I would hazard a guess at the one in the Old Orange Flute being a reference to hanging someone. If the rope is shorter than the ladder then the feet will end up off the ground. |
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09 Mar 06 - 12:33 PM (#1689331) Subject: RE: Up the rope and down the cable From: Jon W. Since I first posted I've found a couple more sources of this song - including Levy's Sheet Music Collection. They all start out the same. Just by context of the song, the line might be more of a riverboat reference than deep sea. |